Jackie Bezos, mother of Amazon -founder Jeff Bezos, has died at the age of 78, announced the billionaire in a heartfelt statement.
Jacklyn Gise Bezos, born in 1946, “died peacefully in his Miami home” on Thursday, according to the Bezos Family Foundation.
“After a long battle with Lewy Body Dementia, she died today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her – her children, grandchildren and my father,” the technical billionaire wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. “I know she felt our love in the last moments. We were all lucky to be in her life. I probably keep her in my heart forever.”
She was diagnosed with the disease by 2020, the fund said. Lewy Body Dementia, a progressive brain disease that affects one’s thinking, memory and movement, is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, according to MayoClinic.
Jackie is survived by her husband, Mike, children Jeff, Christina and Mark, 11 grandchildren and an great -grandchild.
She was born in Washington, DC, before her family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she had Jeff Bezos at 17 years old.
“Her adult age started a little early when she became my mother at the tender age of 17. It couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work,” her son wrote.
“She jumped on the job of loving me with Ferocity, brought my amazing father to the team a few years later and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, watch and nourish. In the rest of her life, that list of people stopped to love never to grow. She always gave so much more than she has ever asked for.”
Bezos’ wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos wrote in the comments: “We will miss her so much. Love you ❤.”
The young, single mother was “relentless,” the foundation said. She took night classes after high school and worked in a bank. This is where she met Miguel Bezos.
They got married in April 1968 according to the foundation.
Jackie poured her heart into her children, the fund said.
“She made countless trips to Radio Shack to Jeff, spent several hours overseeing cheerleading practice with Christina and dragging drums on the back of the family’s station car to Mark. She dedicated her life to her family and poured her heart to raise her children with compassion, patience and wisdom,” the statement reads.
Jackie and Mike – along with their children and their families – created the Bezo Family Foundation in 2000.